Massacre in Shansi

Nat Brandt has written a book about a group of missionaries in China at the end of the nineteenth century. The book is written on three levels and works well on each level. First, is the biographical story of the various missionaries --who they were, where they came from, and how they ended their lives in China in 1900. Their individual personalities including strengths and foibles are sketched indelibly. We learn of their struggles together and with each other as they attempted to spread the Gospel and ultimately became martyrs for their beliefs and activities. The second level is that of Christian missionary work as a whole in China and elsewhere. The difficulties encountered when one is a representative of a foreign culture with an alien appearance, language, and ideas are portrayed vividly. The author shows clearly how the missionaries' convictions that Western ways were best undermined their success at evangelism and acceptance by most of their contemporary Chinese neighbors. Finally, the author discusses 19th century Chinese society and history, the events leading up to the Boxer uprising, the Boxer Rebellion itself and the resultant events as the Rebellion was put down by the Western Powers and includes an appraisal of how 20th century Chinese history was affected by the Rebellion and aftermath. In contrast to most accounts of the Boxer Rebellion which concentrate solely on events transpiring in Peking(Beijing) and Tientsin(Tianjin), the author presents us with a case study of activities away from the capital and coastal areas where missionary activities were the only opportunities for the native Chinese to encounter Western faces and ideas.